Sam Kavanagh Appeals To Get Truth Out In Open

The story keeps getting older, but the details vary. This time, former trainer Sam Kavanagh, after steadfastly proclaiming his innocence regarding the use of banned substances on horses in his charge, has now decided that the truth might set him free, or at least result in his nine-year ban being reduced.

Kavanagh admitted that two horses, Ceda Miss and Palazzo Pubblico received banned substances the morning of their 7 January Warwick Farm engagements, but he did not attempt to place any of the responsibility on the horses.

He was found guilty of 23 infractions involving four different substances, including caffeine, Xenon gas, cobalt and corticosteroid.

Ceda Miss ran unplaced at the Warwick meeting but Palazzo Pubblico was a winner. Those horses did not receive the cobalt that led to Kavanagh’s downfall, but it was the positive test result of Midsummer Sun after winning the Gosfold Cup two days subsequent to the 7 January meeting that was instrumental in bringing Kavanagh before the authorities.

While Kavanagh did not blame the horses, he did point a finger or two in the direction of tow Flemington vets who administered a vitamin complex that contained cobalt without his knowledge. The scandal has moved up the ranks as text messages between Kavanagh and a member of the harness racing set discussed the possible participation of a Group 1 racing operation.